New Program Check-In: Q&A with USC Coach Lindsey Munday

With fallball 2012 in full swing and eight new programs officially working and practicing in preparation for the 2013 season, ILWomen is catching up with coaches from each of the new programs. USC coach Lindsey Munday talks about the upcoming season and the focus of this fall.

You were hired in January of 2011 to lead the program. What has your progress been since then and how have things come together to lead up to this point?
First of all, we are so excited to have our entire team on campus and to have our first season this year! I am very grateful for the time that I have had to recruit, and to work with the group that was on campus last year, but it has been a long time without a season and we are very much looking forward to it. We are a very young team with a lot of work ahead of us, but I believe that everyone is up for the challenge and ready to put everything into this team.

Can you talk a little bit about your assistants Hilary Bowen and Devon Wills and what they each bring to the table? What do you think your strengths are as a coaching staff?
I am very lucky to have both Hilary and Devon here with me, and they both bring such amazing things to this team. Two traits that stick out the most are that they are both very passionate about the game of lacrosse and they also work extremely hard at every aspect of coaching which help our players immensely.

More tactically, Hilary works more on the offensive side of the ball while Devon works with our goalies and our defense. Both Hilary and Devon use their playing experiences and knowledge of lacrosse to make our players better. They also spend a lot of time working individually with players both on the field and off. As a staff I think that we work really well together. We are able to communicate with one another and at the end of the day, all have the same goal of making our players better. We all love lacrosse so much and have a lot of fun doing what we do every day!

In what ways has the USC community embraced lacrosse and having this new program on campus, particularly now that the program has officially begun?
From Day One, USC has been amazing with the support they have shown myself and this program. From the President of the University, to the Athletic Director, to the facilities crew, everyone has been so incredibly caring every step of the way. Even the other athletes on campus are fired up for the start of our season. During our very first fall practice (there may have been running involved) one of the football players came up to me and was genuinely excited and goes "this is history…this is AWESOME." It goes a very long way when everyone at the university supports you. It makes you want to work that much harder not only for your players, but for the entire University as well.

What are your impressions of this inaugural team? You've brought in some high-profile recruits. What are your expectations for them this fall and as you begin your first season?
Overall, I am very excited about the players that we have on board and right now. We have a lot of talent, but our focus right now is on creating connections and playing as a team as much as we can. We have high expectations for this program, but again, we understand that it does not happen overnight. Our main focus is on improving as much as we possibly can this Fall before we head into the Spring Season.

What's the approach to this inaugural fallball and what will your focus be?
Our approach for this fall is on constant improvement. Every player needs to get out of their comfort zone and work on improving individually so that we can improve collectively. Most importantly, we are trying to get our players to not only push themselves, but push each other every single day in practice. More tactically, we are focusing on making the easy play and not making things difficult on ourselves.

What are a few things you've learned about the team following offseason workouts and now in the early stages offall ball?
Our girls are willing to work hard in order to achieve their goals which is the most important thing. We have a lot of girls coming in for film, and doing individuals in order to improve their game. We also have a number of girls stepping up into leadership roles, on the field and off, which is extremely important with a young team.

What are your expectations and goals for this first season and what do you see this team being capable of accomplishing in its first five years?
First and foremost, we want to be the best team that we can possibly be. We have to have a gauge on our own play, regardless of the score, in order for us to improve. Our main goal for this season is to focus on our conference. With the tournament expanding, if you are successful in conference you can put yourself in a good position for the post season. In the long term, our goal is a national championship. I would hope every team would have that as a goal. That is not something we focus on though. We are a very young team and we know that we have a long way to go which is why we need to focus on ourselves, and improve every single day.

What type of identity are you trying to establish for this program?
We want to be a team that cares about each other, and works their absolute hardest for the greater good of the team. I want each player to have their goal to be to make someone else better, to put their teammate in a position to be successful. We want to celebrate the little things, as they are the key to the big picture. Most importantly, we want to have fun doing it. We coach and play because we love it and we can never forget that.